Influence of TiO2 film on photo-catalytic property of enamels

Ti(OC4H9)4–C2H5OH–H2O was used as matrix solution of titanium dioxide (TiO2) film. Through sol–gel process, enamels were coated with TiO2 film. Using methyl-orange as the simulative pollutant solution of photo-catalytic efficiency, we studied photo-catalytic activities of the enamels with and without TiO2 film. Crystal structure and microstructure of the TiO2 film were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffract meter (XRD). Results showed that the photo-catalytic efficiency was greatly improved by the TiO2 film coated on the enamel surface, and crystal of the TiO2 film was anatase with imperfect crystal structure at the baking temperature of 450 °C. The TiO2 film consisted of a lot of very small particles (0.01–0.05 μm and/or 10–50 nano), those particles had very small size and very large surface dimension as well as very high chemical activity, which made TiO2 film have excellent photo-catalytic degradation.